


Misery Loves the Company of these Blue Hands

by elizabethemerald



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Sacrifice, Whump, jester's hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24332047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethemerald/pseuds/elizabethemerald
Summary: Jester gambled facing a hag, attempting her greatest trick yet. And this time Isharnai makes her wisdom save. How will the Mighty Nein deal with this new misery.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett, Jester Lavorre/The Mighty Nein
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Misery Loves the Company of these Blue Hands

**Jester’s Hands**

Jester felt sweat bead under her dress. The hag towered over her as she accepted the cupcake from her hand. Isharnai slowly, carefully ate the cupcake half that had been offered. 

A silent prayer, breathed to the Traveler and Jester cast her spell. Modify Memory. To trick the hag into believing she had such a great time that she wanted to free Nott of her curse. She felt the magic leave her body and watched the hag’s eyebrows quirk in confusion for a moment. She held her breath desperately hoping the magic took hold. Then Isharnai’s face split with a cruel smile. 

“You will have to be more clever than that to pull a trick on me!” She laughed and began reaching forward with her strange double elbowed arms towards Jester. “Now little cleric, I think I will take what you owe me!”

Jester tried to press herself as far away from the hag as she could, but she was looming over her and drawing closer. Jester’s breath came short as terror overrode her mind. 

* * *

The Nein all waited together outside Isarnai’s hut. Beau tried to stop the flow of tears from her eyes. Nott and Yasha sat on the ground looking miserable. Fjord paced back and forth his hand flexing every few paces. Caleb merely stared at the door to the hut, he rubbed his arms up and down, occasionally pausing to scratch at one of his scars. Caduceus stood leaning on his staff watching the others and keeping a quiet eye on their surroundings. 

Jester had been in there too long. They couldn’t hear anything from inside and not knowing what their little blue friend could be doing made the anxiety sit even heavier on their hearts. Beau stood up, dashing the remaining tears from her eyes. 

“It’s been too long, I’m going to go in and get her.” She said. 

The others hesitated for only a moment before they rose to their feet to back Beau up in protecting Jester. However before they could take more than a step the door to the hut slammed open. Jester stumbled out, tears on her face and terror in her eyes. She kept her arms tightly held across her torso as she bumped into the doorway and ran towards them. 

“Jester!” Beau shouted, jumping to her side. “What happened?”

Jester looked at her for a moment, then pushed past her to Nott. 

“You’re good to go. Your curse is broken!” She tried to put her usual joy and exuberance into her voice, but they could all hear her straining to put on a bright face. “Let’s go. Let’s go. Nott you’re good, let’s go.”

She immediately began marching away from the hut, forcing the others to catch up to her. Beau grabbed her shoulders as fell into step. 

“Jester, what did you give up? What happened in there?” Beau asked, her fear coming across as frustration in her voice. “Talk to me Jess!”

“I gave up something like super precious.” Beau could tell Jester was trying to sound sarcastic, to make it seem like a joke, but the way tears still flowed quickly down her cheeks and the look of terror that crossed her face when she turned to look back at the hut, made the words seem to have more truth to them. “Please Beau, I don’t want to talk about it right now, I don’t … I can’t…”

Her breath was coming faster and faster and she picked up the pace till she was practically running, each breath coming ragged. Beau followed behind, throwing a glance to the rest of the Nein who were jogging to keep up. They all shared her same look of concern. 

“Ok, Jester. Slow down a little, you’re going to trip if you’re not careful.” Beau said carefully, trying to hold Jester and calm her break neck pace without stopping outright. She noticed that Jester still hadn’t uncrossed her arms from across her chest. 

Everyone followed close now that the pace had slowed. Yasha and Caduceus pushed ahead to keep an eye on the trail. Caleb and Fjord fell back a pace to watch their backs. Nott followed close behind Jester and Beau her crossbow at the ready. No one spoke as their forced march continued into the swampy ground. 

It only took a short amount of time for them to find a clearing where the bubble would be most of the way above ground. There was a large stump in the middle, that would make it cramped, but at least they would be dry. Yasha briefly considered trying to push the stump out of the area, but with Jester still in a manic state of fear, she decided to focus on standing guard while Caleb got the dome up. 

Once the protective dome was up everyone clustered inside and surrounded Jester. None of them could relax enough to be able to start setting up their bedding, they could only watch Jester’s fearful eyes flick back and forth. 

“Jester.” Beau said softly. She ran her hands gently over the other girl’s shoulders. “We’re safe now. Nothing can get inside the dome, not even a dragon. Can you tell us what happened? What new misery did you give to her?”

“Oh it’s totally fine guys.” Jester said, with smile that made even Beau’s smile look genuine. Tears were still rolling in waves down her cheeks as she sobbed out the words. “Now Nott is free and can be changed back and no one had to sacrifice anything!”

Jester leaned heavily against Beau. 

“Nott you don’t have to try and break up the peace talks. Yasha you don’t have to offer your notebook full of flowers for your wife. And Beau...Beau you don’t have to leave me. You don’t have to leave us.”

“But Jester, what did you give up?” Beau said, her voice breaking in her frustration and worry. 

“Jester.” Caduceus, always the most observant, leaned forward as Jester turned to look at him. “Show us your hands.”

His calm voice made the words almost an order. Beau leaned back looking in growing horror at the way Jester still head her arms crossed across her chest. Jester only shook her head violently, her tail lashing wildly in the undergrowth. 

“It’s ok guys, it’s ok. No one has to leave, no one has to be miserable.” Her voice was going wild, cracking and breaking as she spoke, until she whispered out, “except for me.”

“Jester, please.” Beau said, almost as softly as Cad. Her voice strained, coming out horse. 

Jester looked at all of them and slowly uncrossed her arms from her chest. 

A gasp swept the small area within the dome, equal parts rage and horror. 

Jester’s arms ended just past her elbows. Both of them. There were no wounds or scars, her arms just ended in stumps as if she had never had them. 

Beau was immediately on her feet her staff in her hand. Fire crackled and flared at Caleb’s fingertips. Yasha stood, Skin Gorger in her hands. Even calm Caduceus had a look of fury on his face. 

“I’m going to fucking kill-” Beau’s furious shout was interupted by Jester leaning forward and trying to catch her with a hand that no longer exists. 

“NO!” Jester screamed as she tumbled forward trying to grab for Beau. The monk spun on her heel to catch her before she hit the ground, dropping her staff in the process. “Don’t go! I can’t cast my spells without my hands! If something happens to you I won’t be able to heal you, I won’t be able to help!”

Jester pushed her entire body against Beau’s, trying to hold with just her arms. 

“Please, please don’t go! I gave my hands so none of you would be taken from me. Please don’t try and fight her, we’re all tired and hurt and we don’t have as many spells, please!”

Beau slowly was being pushed off her center of balance as Jester pressed her body against her. Jester was desperately trying to keep Beau from leaving and it was only the steadying hand of Yasha that kept Beau and Jester from toppling backwards. 

“Ok. Jess. We won’t go.” Beau held Jester and helped her lay down. Tears were rolling down her face as she looked down at her. “We’re here for you. No matter what.”

Jester reached up towards Beau’s face. After a second of confusion she realized Jester was trying to wipe the tears from her face, so she lowered her head towards Jester’s stump. 

“Don’t leave me, please.”

Beau leaned her face against the stump, as Jester laid underneath her, while the rest of the Nein set up their sleeping pads around Jester, forming a protective circle around her. Beau stayed at her side, until the exhaustion dragged Jester to sleep. Then the monk stood, her staff in hand and watched the night. Strange zombies that had been attracted by their noise scrapped against the dome, until they lost interest and wandered off into the swamp. All night Beau stood over to protect her Jester. 

* * *

Several mornings later Beau awoke in her bed in the Xhorhaus. She groaned and rubbed grit from her eyes before turning over. Her eyes were drawn to Jester’s bed across the room. 

She sat up when she saw that the bed sat empty. Her scan of the room found Jester soon enough. She was sitting in her chair, staring at the wall she had painted. The mural was the coast of Nicodranas, her mother there singing to the seas, the Nein gathered around to listen. When Beau walked over to her, she barely acknowledged her presence. 

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Beau asked, though the massive dark rings under her eyes answered that question well enough. Jester shook her head without taking her eyes off her painting. “Do you want me to get you any breakfast?” Jester shook her head again. 

“You have to eat something!” Jester didn’t acknowledge this at all. 

Beau leaned forward, her hand going to the back of Jester’s head. She wanted nothing more than to press a kiss to Jester’s temple. Instead she leaned her forehead against her. Jester, ever so gently leaned back, while still keeping her eyes on the painting. 

She turned away so Jester wouldn’t be able to see the tears forming in her eyes. She was almost to the door when her voice stopped her in her tracks. 

“I messed up, Beau.” Jester said. Her voice was hoarse with disuse. 

Beau whirled around to return to Jester’s side. “No, Jessie, you can’t blame yourself, you can’t-”

Jester stood up and brushed past Beau to inspect the painting closer. 

“I messed up with the coloration here. My momma’s dress isn’t this color.”

Beau looked at the painting. She couldn’t see anything wrong with the dress. It looked just like one the Ruby had worn during her performance. She looked at Jester sadly, then ran her hand over the other girl’s shoulders before departing. 

As soon as she was outside the room she could hear the sound of quiet but intense arguing downstairs. She wiped her eyes and followed the sounds into the dining room. She stopped just outside the room to hear what was being discussed. 

“Maybe there is another offer that can be made?” Caduceus’ said. 

“What? Trade more misery to that hag? Hasn’t she caused enough harm?” Caleb said. 

“This is Jester we’re talking about. Don’t you think that any amount of misery would be worth her happy again?” Fjord shouted. 

“We can’t just keep trading misery for misery!” Caleb snapped. “We are already miserably enough. I can’t stand to see her like this either, but what could we offer that wouldn’t hurt just us just as badly?”

“Maybe,” Nott’s voice was soft, scared. “Maybe, I could let her curse me again?”

Beau had enough. She wasn’t going to sit here and listen to her friends, her family talk this way. She stormed in. 

“Absolutely not!” She snapped. “Jester gave her hands for you. For all of us, so we didn’t make a worse mistake. I won’t allow you to undo her sacrifice like that.”

Everyone stared at her as she leaned her fists on the table. 

“No body leaves. Nobody else is cursed. Nobody is going to be make themselves miserable.” Beau continued, glaring around the table, meeting each of their eyes in turn. 

They shuffled uncomfortably for a few seconds. 

“How is she by the way?” Yasha asked softly. Beau’s fierce fire she had entered the room with withered. She sat heavily in one of the chairs, her elbows finding the table top as she rested her chin on her hands. Caleb immediately reached over to place a steadying hand on her shoulder, just like when he was looking through Frumpkin’s eyes. Caduceus pushed some tea and breakfast in front of her. 

“She’s rough.” Beau whispered. “She hasn’t eaten. I don’t even know when the last time she’s slept. I can barely get her to talk to me.”

The table was silent. Beau leaned slightly against Caleb’s hand, taking comfort in his presence. Cad moved the plate piled high with breakfast just a little closer, and she took the hint and started eating. A few bites in she set her fork down and looked at them all with the same fire she had entered with. 

“I just know that she would not want to hear us talking like this. Talking about giving up our own happiness. She sacrificed one most important things to her, her ability to create her art, to keep the rest of safe. To keep us happy. To keep us...together.” Beau had to pause and look down at her plate for a moment to gather herself. The words on her tongue remained unsaid. Jester had sacrificed her hands to keep Beau at her side. A sacrifice Beau could never forget. When she had swallowed down her tears she looked up again. “None of us are going to sacrifice anything else to that hag.”

“But what else can we do?” Nott asked. Beau knew Nott felt the most guilty out of all of them. It was her curse that Jester gave up her hands to break. If Beau had to guess from Nott’s appearance she had been sleeping about as poorly as Jester and Beau herself. 

“I don’t know.” Beau rubbed her face, trying to scrub the tiredness from her mind so she could focus, so she could find some way for Jester to be whole again. 

A soft thump from the floor above them brought the Mighty Nein to their feet. Everyone stood tense, listening. Beau knew the bedroom she shared with Jester was directly above the dining room. They waited for a moment, when a crash and cry came from above. 

The Nein were running for the stairs before the sound had finished. None of them could beat Beau’s speed. She put her all of her training with the Cobalt Soul to use to sprint up the stairs to her door. She burst into the room, her fists clenched, ready to kill anyone who had hurt Jester. 

Instead of some assailant who had infiltrated the Xhorhaus to assault Jester, the cleric herself was laying on the ground in a small puddle of paint. Her paints had spilled, splashing her bed, and going all over her. Worst of all was the smear of paint across the entire wall, that clearly followed the trajectory of her fall. Jester sobbed, tears running through the paint on her face. 

Beau could see at a glance what Jester had been trying to do. She had wanted to fix the painting. Without hands she had tried whatever she could to paint. There was paint on her the ends of her residual limbs, on her feet, even on her nose. 

She moved to Jester’s side without another second’s pause. She held her softly while she cried and cried. The others soon piled into the room, taking in the mess, and Jester’s state. 

Caduceus and Fjord began to gather up the bedding, to clean the paint off it. Caleb and Nott both dropped to their knees to scrub the paint off the floor. Yasha, after a moment’s thought joined Beau in holding Jester while she cried. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Jester sobbed. “I just wanted to fix it, I just wanted to help and I ruined everything.”

“Shh, Jester, Shh.” Beau held her as tight as she dared. She couldn’t tell if Jester was talking about the painting or her sacrifice. “This isn’t your fault, Jessie, you are an amazing person, and we are so lucky to have met you. We never could have gotten here without you.”

Beau didn’t know where her sudden eloquence came from, but she meant every word, and would do everything she could to convince Jester of that. Jester looked at Beau through the mist of tears in her eyes. 

“B-beau, I got paint on your clothes.” Jester’s lip trembled as she spoke. Beau didn’t even look at herself to confirm, it didn’t matter at all to her. The only thing that mattered was Jester. 

“It’s ok, Jess. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.”

Yasha carefully started wiping the paint off Jester’s skin, off her arms, her face, and her feet. Nott with her knowledge of chemicals was able to remove most of the still wet paint from the wall, though there were some spots of the yellow stain that remained. In a few minutes Caduceus returned with a plate full of food and some tea. He fed it to Jester, sitting on the floor with a fork in hand, waiting for her to take each bite. Fjord came in with the blanket pulled off his bed, and he slung it around Jester and Beau’s shoulders. Caleb used his greater image to make tiny amber lollipops and hamster unicorns dance around them. And Beau just kept holding her. She would hold onto Jester for the rest of time, if that helped her feel better. 

Slowly, under the ministrations of her friends, Jester’s tears slowed. Her shaking shoulders stilled. She moved to hold Beau back, as best as she was able. Still her eyes were drawn again to the painting on the wall. 

“Feeling better Jessie?” Beau asked softly, the words whispered into her hair as they held each other. 

Jester gave a slow nod, a small smile teasing the edges of her lips. “Thank you all so much.”

“Of course, Ms. Jester. How could we do anything else, but be here for you?” Caduceus said. 

She sighed softly, looking at the paint smear across her mural. “I would still like to fix this somehow.”

“What if we help you?” Yasha offered at once. Jester looked at her, hope in her eyes. 

“You mean it?”

“Of course.” Yasha stood, gathered some of the paints and brushes, and began carefully painting over the yellow streak. Jester watched for a second than stood with Beau’s help. She leaned around Yasha’s broad arms to look at her mixing paints. 

The rest of the Nein spread out around the room. Nott took a brush and began working on the painting near the floor. Caduceus made more tea and made sure everyone had some while they worked. Caleb’s dancing lights ensured that every artist had enough light. Fjord helped rearrange the room so there would be no risk of paint getting on Jester’s bedding again. Beau supported Jester, keeping an arm around her at all times while Jester advised Yasha and Nott on the color mixing to cover the splotch. 

With the help of the entire party, they soon managed to return the painting to almost how it had been before Jester’s accident. Some of the shades and paint strokes were obviously different, but Jester didn’t seem to mind. In fact her smile just grew wider, now the painting had even more personality. 

The only thing left was the Ruby of the Sea. Jester’s arms started to shake as she looked at the dress, the mistake she had wanted to fix. Beau could see in a moment that none of the others had the confidence in their painting skills to attempt to repaint Jester’s Momma. 

The look of sadness was slowly creeping its way back onto her face. Her momma, now covered in a yellow splotch, a permanent stain on the mural. Beau tried to think of some way to help her, some way to keep her brilliant smile on her face. As she thought, still holding Jester, she felt the tiefling’s tail move to wrap around her waist, holding her back. She snapped her fingers as the idea came to her. 

“Jester, do you think you could paint with the tip of your tail?”

Jester looked at her surprised for a moment, before whipping her tail around to her front. She was too short to be able to reach her momma. Beau didn’t want to risk Jess on the step ladder again, so she gestured to Yasha. 

“Hey Yash, do you think you could-”

Beau didn’t even have to finish the sentence before Yasha, without any visible sign of strain lifted Jester up. Jester couldn’t help a giggle as she suddenly found herself in the air. She was sitting on Yasha’s forearms, so her tail could move however she wanted. She looked over her shoulder while her arms rested on Yasha’s shoulders. Beau picked up the pallet a moved to stand where Jester could see her and the painting. 

Jester dabbed the tip of her tail into the paint, but hesitated before touching it to the wall. 

“What if I mess it up again?” She whispered, her voice shaky. 

“Then we’ll be here to help you fix it. No matter how many times it takes. We’ll be here to help you. Until you’re happy with it.” Beau put her hand on Jester’s knee while she spoke. Jester stared at her, tears once again glistening in her eyes, though they felt different now. More hopeful maybe. Again a smile teased her lips as she looked at Beau. 

After taking a deep breath she began painting with her tail. Starting with small strokes at first, but slowly growing confidence. She would direct Beau and Yasha to move around so she could have the best vantage point. Whenever she needed a new color Nott would climb up on Cad’s shoulders so she could mix the paint under Jester’s supervision. 

While she painted, Beau held the pallet with one hand and kept the other one Jester’s knee at all times. Sometimes her hand would slip to Yasha’s bicep when the taller woman would turn, but it always found its way back to Jester. 

“Jester, when was the last time you talked to the Traveler?” Beau asked softly. 

Jester froze a little then took a deep breath and kept painting. “When I tried to trick Isharnai. But the spell didn’t work. What if he’s mad at me, that it didn’t work?”

“If he’s mad at you he is going to have to get over it in a hurry.” Beau said, forcing her voice to stay lighthearted. “We’re going to need his help and yours for some of our future tricks!”

Yasha grunted in agreement, and Nott cheered. Jester smiled and looked down, a few large tears rolling down her face. Beau leaned in, meeting Jester’s fallen gaze. 

“Maybe once were done here, we can grab some of your notebooks, and we see how’s he doing?” Beau asked. 

“I would like that. I would like that a lot.” Jester said, then after a pause, gasped her voice now panicked. “But I lost my symbol to the Traveler!”

She held up her arm, and Beau realized the Traveler’s gate that normally hung from her wrist must still be attached to that very wrist, whatever the hag had done with it. 

“Oh that’s no worry at all.” Caduceus said and hopped to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

He left the room while the others glanced at each other in confusion for a minute before he returned. In his hands was a simple carved wood version of the Traveler’s symbol. 

“I, uh, made this.” Caduceus said, holding the symbol to his chest like it was a living and adorable animal in his hands. “When we first moved in, I, uh, made one for each of us. Seems only right for you to use it now.”

Beau, immediately pulled on the ribbon that is knotted to her staff to untie it. She looped it through the gate Caduceus had made and gently tied it to Jester’s tail. Yasha set Jester back down, and she spun in place trying to look at her tail. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jester cheered as she spun. She raced around the room, giving each of them a tight hug, and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you all for your help. I’m so glad you are my friends!”

She finished her lap around the room at Beau’s side. She held her tight, and Beau held her back just as tightly. Jester kissed her cheek, but unlike the others lingered a moment longer on Beau’s cheek. 

“Thank you Beau.” She whispered against her. 

Beau smiled down at her, then grunted in pain as Jester sagged against her. 

“Now I’m so tired.” Jester whined. Beau couldn’t help but laugh. 

“That’s what happens when you don’t sleep for several days! Let’s get you to bed.”

While she spoke she nodded towards the door, and the others began to file out slowly. Beau carried Jester over to her own bed, Jester’s bedding was still in the process of getting cleaned. As he left the room Beau made eye contact with Fjord and mouthed, ‘come up with a plan.’ He nodded and finished ushering the others out. 

“We’ll let you two sleep as long as you need.” He said as before closing the door. 

Beau set Jester down on her bed, then since the tiefling refused to let go, even holding Beau with her tail, the monk climbed into bed beside her. Beau covered them both with her blankets. Jester giggled a little. 

“We are in bed together. It’s like we’re sleeping together!” Her voice carried her exhaustion, as she snuggled up against Beau’s chest. 

Beau didn’t respond at first. She waited while Jester’s breathing steadied and slowed until she was sure she was asleep. Then Beau softly pressed her lips to Jester’s temple. 

“I love you Jess. We’ll figure some way to fix this. I promise.”

* * *

The Mighty Nein as a group are known as many things. Most folks they meet would agree that they are little more than a group of Assholes, trouble makers, good for nothing. However there is a growing number of folks they meet who describe them as dedicated, brilliant and willing to shatter the heavens to protect their own. 

Over the next week, the Nein call in and offer up dozens of favors, reaching out to allies they have made from all across the continent. It may seem like over kill to some but this was the Mighty Nein, and this was Jester. Everyone’s favorite tiefling cleric. She got them into and out of who knows how many scraps. She’s the one everyone in the Nein loves, in one way or another. 

Somewhere in the mountainous swamps above Kamordah, the quiet around Isharnai’s hut is suddenly shattered as multiple teleportation circles open up. Dairon runs out of one circle at the head of half a dozen monks of the Cobalt Soul. An ogre leaves another, followed by marksmen and fighters of the Gentleman. Yussa Errenis follows them, magic already appearing at his fingertips. Essek emerged from his own circle with a small squad of Kryn dunamancers. 

The final group to arrive were the Nein themselves. Each of the Nein had their weapons in their hands, magic sparking at their fingertips. Caleb already had Cat’s Ire cast and as soon as he stepped out of the circle he gestured the massive cat’s claw forward. 

The spectral paw tore the roof from hut, setting off the entire burning bonfire of chaos. 

Isharnai was a formidable opponent. She was faster than any of them could have predicted, moving with a speed never before seen from one end of the battle to the other. And from the swamps surrounding her home monsters came at her call. Bizzare zombies, harpies and worse. Kryn soldier, Cobalt monk, and criminal hired blades fought side by side, attacking the hag, and defending themselves from the approaching ravenous monsters. 

Beau kept a grim smile on her face as she fought, lightning and glowing light flickered at her knuckles as she punished the hag for the misery she caused with blow after blow. She thought for a moment that they would succeed, that they would be able to defeat this hag, and possibly return Jester to how she had been. 

That was until she blinked and Isharnai disappeared from across the battlefield. Beau spun in place looking for her quarry, only to come face to face with the hag herself. Sharp claws forced their way into her belly, tearing at her exposed abdomen. Blood poured out as she stumbled back, away from the hag. 

“NNNOOOOO!!!!!” the pained shriek seemed to shatter the sky, but it didn’t come from Beau. A column of light, brighter than anything she’s seen before pours down from the sky, siering Isharnai. “You will not take her away from me!”

Beau turned, with difficulty to the edge of the battle. Jester had insisted on coming. There was no way she was going to be willing to stay behind waiting for word. She had come as ready for battle as she could be. Now when Beau turned to look at her, she could see the glowing sigil still hanging in the air, trailing Jester’s tail, with her wooden symbol of the Traveler hanging from it. The light of Dawn, burning down from the heavens, almost blinded her. 

The Kryn soldiers hid their faces, but continued to fight as well as they were able. Caduceus ran past tapping Beau’s shoulder to allow healing energy to flow through her. She and Yasha played their roles of sentinel keeping Isharnai in the column of burning light. Caleb “gatling fireball” Widogast incinerated every blade of grass within the column, while Fjord’s divine spells flew alongside Caduceus’. The whole time, Jester sat on her knees, her holy symbol raised high as she prayed and prayed to the Traveler to keep the spell up. 

Finally the final blow was struck. Who won the killing strike couldn’t be clear with the number of combatants. Privately Beau bet Isharnai succumbed to the flaming light of Jester’s magic. Regardless the hag falls. The fighters catch their breath. And Jester runs forward to catch Beau as best she can as the blood loss brings her to her knees. 

It took a few attempts for Jester to use her tail for the somatic elements of the spell, but Beau soon felt another burst of healing radiant energy run through her body, stitching her wounds closed. Beau smiled up at Jester, and put one blood stained hand up to cup her face. 

“Hey Jess.” Beau said, with a tired smile. “We did it!”

“Yeah we did. Of course, we’re the Mighty Nein!” Jester said, her smile bright, even as a few small tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Slowly the fighters picked themselves up. Jester stayed with Beau, on the edge of the circle burned into the ground. Essek and Yussa made their way carefully into the remains of the hut, with Caleb and Fjord following close behind. After a few minutes of searching they emerged with a small cage in Caleb’s hand. In the cage were two blue hands, one with a silver symbol to the Traveler still on it’s wrist. 

Jester put her arms up in surprise, and to the greater surprise of those surrounding her the hands flexed as if they had just been brought up to her face. Jester looked at them, making them turn and flex for a few seconds, before she made her hands perform a series of lewd and obscene gestures. She was soon rolling on the floor laughing at the sight of her hands separate from her body. Though not everyone was as amused. 

Yussa and Essek were quietly discussing with Caleb possible ways to reattach her hands and undo Isharnai’s curse. Jester suggested they make it so her hands could float around without her body. Essek shut that down in no uncertain terms. 

“I fear the world would not survive a prankster such as yourself being able to control her hands separate from her body.” He said. Jester had to agree with him. 

Beau couldn’t focus on anything else, just Jester and the fact that they had made it. They had survived and got her back her hands, as soon as the wizards could figure out she would be whole again. Jester turned and saw her staring and leaned against her. 

“Don’t ever think about leaving me again.” She whispered into Beau’s ear. 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Beau responded, leaning forward so her forehead bumped Jester’s temple. 

“Better not.”

Before Beau could say anything else Jester leaned forward and kissed, quieting any thoughts in her head. Beau smiled against Jester’s lips. 

As long as they were together, this family of the Mighty Nein, no matter how dark the hour, somehow they will manage to shine a light through. 

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously this is focused on Beauregard and Jester as the central ship, but it could very easily be read as polyship fic as well. I'm a multi shipper and a poly shipper. It could be said that this story is about Jester protecting her Harem who all love her and she loves in return.


End file.
